The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.

Abstract: Team organization is an integral part of many scholarly and work related tasks. Typically it`s dependent upon un-controlled, un-known or random factors. These series of studies presented here take a different approach to team organization and management: The direct identification of member specific competence and its contribution to the fulfilment of team goals. The concept of competence primacy is used to describe the prevalence, persistence or priority of a certain type of competence which each team member brings to the table in the solution of team based tasks. First, results that pin-point the primary competence of different university students are presented with in a five level model. Secondly, a general methodology for the construction and application of team based virtual tasks (such as, matching to sample, nonsense syllables and path completion) is presented given that each task is designed in terms a five level model of goal complexity. Finally, initial results are presented which describe the general success or failure to meet team objectives under three general conditions of correspondence between competence primacy and team goal complexity: a) total correspondence, b) partial correspondence and c) non correspondence. General conclusions point to the possibility of a behavioral driven methodology for the organization of efficient work or scholarly teams.

38. Effects of Feedback and Social Reinforcement on the Use of Personal Protective Equipment by Employees of a Company.

Abstract: Currently business concern is remarkable in relation to the implementation of policies and practices for effective security, which reduce the hazards in daily performance of workers who have to expose themselves to situations that present a risk to their physical safety. The present study aimed to implement a behavioral analytic intervention with the goal of increasing the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for employees of a large company. The survey was conducted with 07 professionals from a company engaged in the trade of cement and aggregates. To participate in the study, those involved should be employees of the company for more than three months, working as drivers of concrete mixer trucks, being of legal age and literate. The procedure was composed of five phases, with the first and third were intended to establish the baseline by recording the observation of behavior of using PPE by employees. The second, fourth and fifth phase was allocated to interventions that consisted, respectively, by applying feedback with performance charts, use of social reinforcement and the combination of both proposals. From the results, it was revealed that the introduction of variables changed the behavior of use of PPE for the participants, increasing its issuance.

Abstract: Organizational citizenship behaviors are the extra discretionary behaviors not formally defined through job roles. One specific type of organizational citizenship behavior involves helping coworkers. This project examines individual growth trajectories of helping behaviors with a three-level model of four time points, nested within 721 employees nested within 130 work groups to investigate the relative stability of helping behaviors over time. The Work and Family Health Study (2014) dataset consists of a workgroup randomized intervention to maintain helping behaviors. By considering the nested data structure and using Hierarchical Linear Modeling, we revealed the intervention maintained helping for the intervention group relative to the control group. Predictors that influenced individual growth trajectories of helping at the individual level included job demands, intent to quit and job satisfaction. However, at the work group level, the contextual effect of job satisfaction in the workgroup predicted helping. These findings support an Equity Theory perspective of workers matching inputs relative to outcomes, and highlight the importance of considering (nested) levels of analysis and selecting the correct statistical method of inquiry. Hierarchical Linear Modeling and its usefulness for Applied Behavior Analysis will be discussed.

40. The Effect of Individual and Group Feedback on Work Performance, Feedback Acceptance, and Group Cohesiveness

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of individual and group feedback on work performance (both quantity and quality), feedback acceptance and group cohesiveness. Ninety participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: individual feedback, group feedback, and no feedback condition. Participants had to perform a conjunctive work task that required them work cooperatively in a group of three. The experimental sessions consisted of one 20 min baseline session and five 20 min treatment sessions. That is, 3 x 2 mixed design was adopted. The results showed that the group feedback was more effective than the individual feedback in improving the quantity of work performance although the two types of feedback did not produce a difference in the quality of performance. In addition, the group feedback produced higher level of group cohesiveness. However, the individual feedback produced higher level of feedback acceptance. These findings suggest that individual feedback is not always superior to group feedback and the relative effectiveness may depend on the types of work task.

41. The Relative Effects of Feedback Frequency and Specificity of Eco-IVIS on Fuel Efficiency and Workload

Abstract: This study examined the relative effects of feedback frequency and specificity of Eco-IVIS (eco in-vehicle information system) on the fuel-efficiency and workload. Eighty participants were recruited from a university and they were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions (high frequency/specific, high frequency/global, low frequency/specific, and low frequency/global feedback). Participants in each experimental condition drove 16.4Km motorway. As the dependent variables, fuel efficiency and Drive Activity Load Index (DALI) score were measured. DALI consisted of six subscales that included effort of attention, visual demand, auditory demand, temporal demand, interference, and situational stress and participants were asked to respond to the items in the subscales. The results showed that high frequency feedback was more effective than low frequency feedback in increasing fuel-efficiency. However, specific and global feedback did not produce a significant difference in the fuel efficiency. The overall DALI scores in the four experimental conditions were not significantly different. More specifically, all the subscales scores except the visual demand score across the four experimental conditions were not significantly different. The visual demand score was significant higher under the high frequent feedback condition than low frequent feedback condition.

42. The Effects of Social Interaction and Group Size on Work Performance Under a Group Incentive System

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of social interaction and group size on work performance under an equally distributed group incentive system. Participants were 120 undergraduate students and randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups: (1) 3-member group with social interaction, (2) 10-member group with social interaction, (3) 3-member group without social interaction, and (4) 10-member group without social interaction. A simulated work task which resembled online banking money transfer was developed and participants were asked to perform the work task. The dependent variable was the number of correctly completed work tasks. All participants performed six 15 minute sessions. For the participants who had social interaction opportunities, the different group size did not produce a significant difference in performance. For those who did not have social interaction opportunities, on the other hand, the performance of 3-member group was significantly higher than that of the 10-member group.

43. An Examination of the Effects of Performance Improvement Goals and Feedback on Performance and Persistence on an Analog Work Task

Abstract: In 1968, the first cohesive theory on goal setting proposed that difficult goals produce higher levels of performance than easy goals. Whereas over 40 years of research supports this theory, there has been some discrepancy regarding the use of very high goals. This study examined the effects of different levels of performance improvement goals and two types of feedback. Participants were given goals of either 150% or 175% improvement over baseline, and experienced two types of feedback counterbalanced across conditions. One feedback showed the participants their progress towards the goal as a percent, while the other showed the participants their progress towards the goals as a percent, plus what percent of the goal they should have completed by that point in the session in order to meet the goal by the end of the session. The lower goals produced higher increases in performance than higher goals, and lower goals produced increases in accuracy, while the higher goals produced decreases in accuracy. Feedback that made clear the discrepancy between a participant’s current performance and performance necessary to reach the goal produced slightly higher increases in responding and very slightly higher accuracy than feedback that only provided a record of correct responses and percent of goal completion.

44. Effects of Probabilistic Arrangements of Varied Incentive Magnitudes on Task Performance in a Simulated Work Setting

Domain: Basic Research

CONOR M. SMITH (The University of Kansas), Jason M. Hirst (Southern Illinois University), Matthew Novak (The University of Kansas), Amy J. Henley (The University of Kansas), Denys Brand (The University of Kansas), Florence D. DiGennaro Reed (University of Kansas)

Discussant: Heather McGee (Western Michigan University)

Abstract: Incentives are a popular method to foster desired employee behavior; however, the effects of incentives are mixed. In many studies, incentives reliably produce performance improvements, but the most effective incentive amount is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of incentive magnitude under varying probabilities in a simulated workplace. Participants completed a 5-minute check-processing task for probabilistic monetary bonuses (5%, 10%, 25%, and 90%). A multielement design embedded within an ABAB design was used to evaluate the effects of small ($0.75) and large ($1.50) incentives on the performance of undergraduate students. Two patterns of behavior emerged. One pattern revealed high response rates across all incentive and probability conditions. The other pattern showed incentives available at probabilities less than 90% in both incentive conditions failed to maintain allocation of behavior to the task. An examination of the variables responsible for these response patterns is underway.

45. An Evaluation of the Impact of Self-Monitoring Accuracy on Safe Sitting Posture

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of self-monitoring accuracy on safe sitting posture. Participants in this study were sixty undergraduate students. During 30 min baseline phase, participants were asked to perform typing task and their safe sitting posture scores were obtained. Based on the scores, participants were divided into two groups through the matching procedure so that the mean scores of the two groups could be approximately equivalent. In one group, participants received self-monitoring training with accuracy training. In the other, participants received self-monitoring training without accuracy training. After the training, the self-monitoring phase started. This phase lasted for 60 min and participants were asked to self-monitor their own sitting postures and their sitting posture scores were obtained. The results indicated that safe posture scores in both group were significantly higher in the self-monitoring phase compared to the baseline. More importantly, safe posture scores of the group with accuracy training were significantly higher than those of the group without accuracy training.

Abstract: Providing feedback is a critical component of supervision. One commonly recommended feedback procedure is the feedback sandwich (FBS; Henley & DiGennaro Reed, 2015). The purpose of this research was to examine the degree to which supervisors delivery of FBS continues post-training with high levels of fidelity over the course of three months. Videotaped feedback sessions following FBS training of 16 supervisors were coded to assess procedural fidelity. Data show that the average percent of correct implementation across sessions range from 75-100%, and that the average duration of a feedback sandwich across sessions ranged from 44-58 seconds. These results suggest that with relatively brief training that introduces the concept of the feedback sandwich, supervisors maintain acceptable levels of fidelity in use of FBS over time. Importantly, these results occurred in the absence of feedback to the supervisor regarding the implementation of FBS, suggesting that this method is easy to learn and implement. Implications for training and future research on types of performance feedback will be presented.

47. Enhancing Cooperative Behavior in a Closed-Market Scenario: Metacontingencies in a Three-Person Chicken Game

Area: EAB; Domain: Applied Research

MARCO TAGLIABUE (Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences ), Ingunn Sandaker (Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences)

Discussant: Heather McGee (Western Michigan University)

Abstract: Each of twelve undergraduate and graduate students participated in a three-person group size chicken game with the aim of maximizing his or her income after selling one of two products X or Y to one and only buyer. Whereas the experimental settings themselves and furthermore a metacontingency imposition resulting in a bonus, rewarding cooperative behavior, would have expected an increase and maintenance of unanimous responses, resulting in the best individual and collective outcome, our data seems to suggest an unneglectable competitive pattern of behavior, which is aimed at minimizing the earning of the two other players while not necessarily maximizing his/her own at the same time. Throughout 150 played rounds, the very few cooperative responses recorded (three X’s or three Y’s, alternatively reinforced, in a reversal experimental design) were apparently not enough numerically, to replicate the solid metacontingency control levels exercised in previous studies, nor selectively, in order to overcome the competitive culture of out beating each of the other two players within the same group.